CS 3114 Course Administration 1

Data Structures and Algorithms

Long House
Ancestral
Puebloan,
Mesa Verde

CS@VT Data Structures & Algorithms ©2000-2010 McQuain

Instructor and Course Information Course Administration 2

William D McQuain
Email: wmcquain@cs.vt.edu
Office: 634 McBryde Hall
Office Hours: see course website

CS 3114 Data Structures and Algorithms

Advanced data structures and analysis of data structure and algorithm performance.
Sorting, searching, hashing, and advanced tree structures and algorithms. File system
organization and access methods.

Course projects require advanced problem-solving, design, and implementation skills.

CS@VT Data Structures & Algorithms ©2000-2010 McQuain

Course Objectives Course Administration 3

Having successfully completed this course, the student will be able to:

- Choose the data structures that effectively model the information in a problem.
- Judge efficiency trade-offs among alternative data structure implementations or
combinations.
- Apply algorithm analysis techniques to evaluate the performance of an algorithm and
to compare data structures.
- Implement and know when to apply standard algorithms for searching and sorting.
- Recognize and apply design patterns, and make judgments about when a particular
pattern will improve a design.
- Design, implement, test, and debug programs using a variety of data structures
including buffer pools, hash tables, binary and general tree structures, search trees,
tries, heaps, graphs, and B-trees.
- Select appropriate methods for organizing data files and implement file-based data
structures.
- Apply object-oriented design principles to data structures in medium-scale software
systems.
- Apply design guidelines to evaluate alternative software designs.

CS@VT Data Structures & Algorithms ©2000-2010 McQuain

Course TA Course Administration 4

Puranjoy Bhattacharjee
Email: puran@vt.edu
Office: McB 106/110
Office Hours: TBA

CS@VT Data Structures & Algorithms ©2000-2010 McQuain

Prerequisites Course Administration 5

CS 2104 Intro to Problem Solving in CS

CS 2114 Software Design and Data Structures
CS 2505 Computer Organization I
Math 2534 Discrete Mathematics

All students must have completed each of the CS prerequisites with a grade of C or
higher (C- is not acceptable).

There will be absolutely NO exceptions to these requirements.

Note Lying about whether you meet the prerequisites is an Honor Code offense. Students
who do so may be charged, at the discretion of the Department of Computer
Science.

CS@VT Data Structures & Algorithms ©2000-2010 McQuain

Text and Recommended References Course Administration 6

Required:
Data Structures and Algorithm Analysis in Java, 2nd Edition
Mark Allen Weiss, Addison-Wesley, ©2007
ISBN 0-321-37013-9

Recommended:
CS 3114 Course Notes, Spring 2010 Edition
W D McQuain, ©2001-2009
(available ONLY at the course website)

courses.cs.vt.edu/~cs3114/Spring10/

CS@VT Data Structures & Algorithms ©2000-2010 McQuain

Graded Work Course Administration 7

Final grades will be based on the average achieved over the following :

Item Weight Dates

Programming Projects 40% See website
Homework 10% See website
Quizzes 10% Frequent
Tests 10% each Tentatively: June 4 and June 25
Final Exam* 20% 13:00 – 15:00 Saturday July 3

* Exam score will replace the midterm score, if it is higher.

CS@VT Data Structures & Algorithms ©2000-2010 McQuain
Grade Policies Course Administration 8

Grade Scale
The usual 10-point scale will apply (subject to any curve). A final average of 90% will
guarantee an A-, 80% will guarantee a B-, and so forth.

Curve
A grade curve may or may not be employed in this course. The application of a curve is
dependent upon class performance on tests, projects and homework. The decision to utilize a
curve rests entirely with the course instructor.

Statute of Limitations
Any questions about the grading of an assignment must be raised with your instructor within
two weeks after the graded assignment has been made available to you.

CS@VT Data Structures & Algorithms ©2000-2010 McQuain

Late Work Course Administration 9

Late Days for Projects

Each student is allotted 4 (four) virtual late vouchers. Each late voucher may be used to
"purchase" an extra day (relative to the due date) to turn in a MAJOR programming project
without any penalty.
Late submissions of a project will not be evaluated unless the student has enough late
vouchers to "purchase" the necessary amount of extra time that was used.
Late vouchers will be applied automatically, as needed. Unused late vouchers simply expire at
the end of the term; there will be no extra credit for them.

Extensions
Any request for an extension must be made, preferably by email, at least 24 hours prior to the
due date. Reasons must be valid (generally events beyond your control) and documented.
Late submissions will not be given any credit if submitted after graded assignments or
solutions have been released.

Homework
Usually, no late submissions will be allowed for homework assignments.

CS@VT Data Structures & Algorithms ©2000-2010 McQuain

Project Evaluation Course Administration 10

Evaluation of Correctness, Design and Implementation, and Documentation

The correctness of operation of your programming projects will be evaluated by executing
your solution with test data constructed by the course staff. While some test data will be
provided, there is no guarantee that data will cover all cases.

Each project will have certain explicit requirements for design and implementation. Your
solution will also be evaluated for adherence to those requirements.

You are expected to enter CS 3114 with considerable understanding of good software
engineering practice, and you are expected to apply those lessons here. That means that you
may be penalized for failing to make good decisions, even if there are no explicit guidelines in
the specification of a project.

You are also expected to incorporate professional internal documentation into your projects.
See the Programming Standards page on the course website for some suggestions and samples.

CS@VT Data Structures & Algorithms ©2000-2010 McQuain

Project Test Requirements Course Administration 11

Test Environments
- All programming assignments submitted are required to compile with
javac version 6 update 20.
- Unless specified otherwise, programs will only be tested under that
environment.
- It is the YOUR responsibility to ensure that YOUR programs execute
correctly in the appropriate environment; programs that do not will receive
substantial deductions.

Students developing with a different Java major version are advised that will almost
certainly lead to problems.

Your programs WILL be tested with the environment listed above. If it fails to
compile, or exhibits incorrect behavior, we don’t care that it may compile elsewhere,
or appear to run correctly elsewhere.

CS@VT Data Structures & Algorithms ©2000-2010 McQuain

Sources of Help for This Course Course Administration 12

General Issues
- CS 3114 classmates
- CS 3114 Forum online at forum.cs.vt.edu
- CS 3114 TA
- CS 3114 Instructor

Java Language Help

- CS 3114 Forum
- texts from earlier courses

Lecture Instruction
Lectures will consist of presentations, applications, problems and
solutions interspersed with classroom discussion.

CS@VT Data Structures & Algorithms ©2000-2010 McQuain

Damage Control Course Administration 13

Backups
Students are responsible for making backup copies of all their work in this
(and all) courses.

Loss of work due to hard drive failure is NOT an acceptable excuse. Backup
copies of files on the same hard drive are not backup copies. Backup copies of
files on second hard drives are also risky. Backup copies should be maintained
on two separate distinct storage mediums, (e.g., hard drives and Zip disks).

Backup copies should be maintained until after the end of the term and students
have received their course grade. (The Army lives by triplicate for a reason.)

Remember: Computer systems are mechanical devices.

Systems fail. Drives die. Bad sectors appear.
Network connections break.
Plan for it. It is inevitable!

CS@VT Data Structures & Algorithms ©2000-2010 McQuain

Honor Code Course Administration 14

An exhaustive list of Honor Code violations would be impossible to present here, but among other
things, each of the following is a flagrant violation of the Virginia Tech Honor Code, and violations
will be dealt with severely (Honor Court):
• Working with another student to derive a common program unless group work is explicitly
allowed on that assignment.
• Discussing the details required to solve a programming assignment. You may not share
solutions.
• Copying source code (programs) in whole or in part from someone else.
• Copying files from another student's disk even though they might be unprotected.

It is acceptable to discuss with classmates a programming assignment in a general way, i.e., to

discuss the nature of the assignment. In other words, you may discuss with your classmates what
your program is required to accomplish but not how to achieve that goal using Java. In no way
should the individual statements of a program or the steps leading to the solution of the problem be
discussed with or shown to anyone except those people cited in the following statement.

CS@VT Data Structures & Algorithms ©2000-2010 McQuain

Honor Code Course Administration 15

Feel free to discuss the homework assignments and your program source code with the teaching
assistants assigned to CS 3114, the instructor, or the free tutors provided by UPE. The discussion of
your program source code must be limited to these people. Note that this specifically excludes
discussions of your program source code with other students (even if they are not enrolled in CS
3114), or with tutors except for those named above. Privately hired tutors are not an exception to
this requirement, nor are athletic or other tutors provided by the University.
Copies of all submitted work are retained indefinitely by the Department. Submitted programs are
subjected to automated analysis for detection of cheating.
If you have any question as to how the Honor Code applies to this class, remember that:
• Any work done in this class must be done on an individual basis.
• Credit will be given only for work done entirely on an individual basis.
• Do not make any assumptions as to who can provide help on a programming assignment.
• All submitted work is archived. All submitted programs will be subjected to automated
cheat analysis.
Evidence indicating the violation of the policies stated above will be submitted to the Honor Court.
It is much easier to explain a poor grade to parents or a potential employer than to explain an Honor
Court conviction.

CS@VT Data Structures & Algorithms ©2000-2010 McQuain